Proposed RV parking rule changes quashed by Calgary committee

A proposed relaxation of RV parking rules in Calgary has been voted down by a city committee, though the idea will still go to council as a whole and could be resurrected.

Administration recommended a change to the bylaw to allow RVs to be parked in a front driveway for an unlimited amount of time between May and September.

Current city rules only allow someone to park an RV on their front driveway for up to 36 hours.

"To me, it's just going too far, saying all summer," said Coun. Andre Chabot, the Ward 10 representative.

The rule changes, which were rejected in a 6-5 vote, would have put limitations on where on a front driveway an RV could be parked. A vehicle would have to have been parked at least one metre away from a sidewalk or curb and 7.5 metres from a corner to preserve sight lines.

A graphic explaining proposed RV parking rules for Calgary. (Source: City of Calgary)

"It's divisive primarily because this is actually a question of how do we enforce or police the way that neighbours interact with each other," said Courtney Walcott, the Ward 8 councillor.

"On one hand, you have the reality that people are negotiating with their own property and their own property rights and the bylaw is about just avoiding major safety challenges.”

While some councillors argued the current rules are too restrictive, others said the proposed rule changes could have caused issues between neighbours and increased the workload for bylaw officers.

"Enforcement, for the number of complaints that we're getting, to change this just to accommodate a few is to me is not the right the right way to go," said Chabot.

Administration said the city receives an average of 300 complaints annually about the current RV parking rules